War – The Orbital

16Nov

By Adisa-Maria ManoleNo Comments

Beyond Space and Time

By Adisa Manole November is the month that many Eastern European countries remember the loved ones who have departed from this life. Consequently, I decided that this was the right time to tell the tale of my great-grandfather. He served in the Second World War when Romania joined the Soviet Union's Operation Barbarossa. Even though I have never met my great-grandfather, my father always told me that I had the same spark in my eyes as he did. I always needed clarification on what he meant when he said that. How could this heroic figure compare to this scared young woman? When my great-grandfather, Vasile Gheorghe (also known as Răduță), was sent to serve on the battlefields of Europe, he was in his late twenties, had just got married to my great-grandmother, and they had just ...

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

As I sat down to write this article, it suddenly struck me just how wide and complex the word ‘connection' is. At its core, connection has these profound connotations of a bond, of intimacy, of emotion. Yet we apply ‘connection’ to acquaintances and social media friends. On LinkedIn we ask a stranger to ‘connect’ in the name of professional development. We connect the dots, and play Connect 4. Most recently, connection has been used to talk about current crises from the Russian war on Ukraine to climate change. Now with Ukrainians being forced to find refuge in countless countries across Europe, we might wonder how this changes our viewpoint on connection. Yuliya, who recently fled Ukraine, told me her story. Below is her account of what happened. “I was born an...

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Unity for Ukraine

How the Invasion of Ukraine Has Demonstrated What a Europe In Unity Can Do For Victims of Violence, Invasion And War On 21st February 2022, Putin recognised the independence of non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, and on 24th February ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU council had already delivered its first round of sanctions on the 23rd, in response to Russia’s recognition of the separatist regions’ independence. This was then immediately bolstered by further sanctions on the day of the invasion, alongside the Joint Statement by the EU council condemning the ‘unprovoked and unjustified military actions’ of Russia, deploring ‘the loss of life and suffering’ and warning of measures which would ‘impose massive and severe consequences on Russia...

Repeating History? | ‘Munich’ and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

27Feb

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Repeating History? | ‘Munich’ and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Netflix recently released 'Munich: The Edge of War', a film adaptation of Robert Harris's book. It centres around the Munich agreement, Chamberlain’s attempt to ensure peace in Europe via the negotiation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. With Vladimir Putin’s Russia waging war on Ukraine, reading this book felt very apt for me, and terrifying. Looking up from the pages to hearing the news at the moment felt like I hadn't left the world of the book at all. Europe is facing one of the largest attacks since World War Two, leading to many people referring to the current events as the prelude to world war three. This is not the first recent Russian threat to Ukraine, but it is it’s most unjustified, violent and daring. Missiles and helicopter attacks began on Thursday resulting in...

The silver lining of mutually assured destruction – nuclear peace

26Jan

By Kaelin DignamNo Comments

Science & Technology

The silver lining of mutually assured destruction – nuclear peace

It's been about a month since I wrote my article about why war is highly unlikely amidst growing fears that it would break out after the US assassinated Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. This article should be considered an informal follow-up to that, almost like an unofficial part two. You don't have to, but you should probably read the first article before this one as it will make a lot more sense. This article is less about reporting statistical information but more of a highly informal comment about war and in particular nuclear war. Since the second world war was ended by the hellish fire of nuclear weapons which were first unleashed to the world in 1945, decimating the Japanese town of Hiroshima in which almost 90% of the population were simply innocent civilians, the world has not se...

Is WW3 Really Going To Happen? Probably Not

6Jan

By Kaelin DignamNo Comments

News

Is WW3 Really Going To Happen? Probably Not

Concerns have been triggered worldwide following the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike. In response to this, Iran has sworn "harsh revenge", dubbing the attack a "gruesome crime from criminal America", instilling fear in the entire world. Such events have caused a massive surge of interest online as concerns of a "World War III" grew, sparking anxiety amongst any Americans and European allies alike. This mainly due to the impending fear of being drafted due to such events, but also has surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) birthed a huge amount of memes parodying the entire situation. Such memes have also caused the hashtag #WW3 and similar tags to become trending on social media as these memes dominate the entire internet. But this obviously begs th...

10Aug

By No Comments

News

Egham War Memorial Vandalised

A monument in Egham bearing the names of the town’s lost soldiers has been defaced in what police have called a “shocking act of criminal damage”. The obelisk and accompanying plaques, just outside of St. John’s Church, were targeted for the senseless destruction sometime over the night of 3 August. It appears as if the perpetrators prised off the plaques before shattering them, while damage was also committed to the memorial wreaths surrounding the monument. The attack comes just a few months before Remembrance Day. The vicar of St. John’s church, Rev. Jeff Wattley, today expressed his sadness at the events, saying: “It’s very sad that something as precious for the memories of many people in Egham has been mistreated in such a way. “It looks as if it was primarily just p...